Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Up 1.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) shot up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $325.00 to $390.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Tesla traded as high as $351.62 and last traded at $346.96. 38,185,586 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 96,653,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $342.82.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on TSLA. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $388.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Argus set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Tesla to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Tesla from $314.00 to $307.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Cfra Research downgraded shares of Tesla from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.61, for a total transaction of $33,673,167.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at $25,466,850. This represents a 56.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,672 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.73, for a total transaction of $718,046.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 26,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,242,273.50. This trade represents a 9.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 412,623 shares of company stock worth $115,600,501. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $275,000. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 15,376 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $6,209,000 after acquiring an additional 6,439 shares during the period. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the 4th quarter worth about $1,361,000. Tlwm lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Tlwm now owns 8,306 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $3,354,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Biltmore Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Biltmore Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,772 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,523,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Tesla Stock Up 1.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 170.15, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.43. The firm's fifty day moving average is $264.96 and its 200-day moving average is $328.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.26). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. The firm had revenue of $19.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Tesla Company Profile

Tesla, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, leases, and sells electric vehicles, and energy generation and storage systems in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Automotive, and Energy Generation and Storage. The Automotive segment offers electric vehicles, as well as sells automotive regulatory credits; and non-warranty after-sales vehicle, used vehicles, body shop and parts, supercharging, retail merchandise, and vehicle insurance services.

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